Japan Deploys Fighters After Spotting Russian Reconnaissance Planes

The Japanese Ministry of Defense stated today that it "deployed fighter planes after spotting two Russian EL-38 reconnaissance aircraft flying back and forth between the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea." Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated in a statement that "Russian and Chinese naval ships are conducting joint patrols in the Pacific Ocean and naval exercises in the East China Sea." It continued, "A group of ships from the Russian Navy and the People's Liberation Army Navy is currently sailing in the waters of the East China Sea, having covered a distance of 6,400 nautical miles since the start of the patrol." This activity by Russian air forces in the region, which is also close to South Korea and China, comes one day after Tokyo spotted Russian and Chinese naval vessels crossing the waters between the islands of Okinawa and Miyako south of Japan.